The Pup of the Ocean
by ZumaX
Summary: After a not so relaxing vacation ends up with the Paw Patrol gaining a new member, they must help him find a family again and accept his past. Though far out in the ocean there is another problem ensuing, travelers are mysteriously disappearing and ships are being destroyed by an unknown force.
1. A Day of Relaxation

This story starts off in a very similar way to The Water Pup by Taurusology (Read it by the way). It gets different from it in the later chapters. If it is to similar I could change the first few chapters to be more unique. I have never written a story like this before. The only real writing I have done is for school work.

The sun began to rise spreading light across Adventure Bay, birds filled the air with their songs as a slight refreshing breeze began to drift through the summer air. The beach had already began to become swarmed with both humans and animals. The water was also becoming filled with fishers and swimmers enjoying the waters tranquil and relaxing waves slowly coming into the bay. 

A still half-asleep pup clumsily stepped out of his pup house with a face covered in drool taking in the morning sun and air, almost tripping over his own feet. He peered around realizing that he once again was the last to awake. As he began to walk further into the cool outside he jumped as he heard a voice echo throughout the air telling him that he slept in.

"Wakey, wakey Marshall!" shouted Chase through his megaphone. Chase appeared as if he had drank a whole cup of coffee and had already been up for hours, he always was awake before everyone else. He was standing in front of the lookout and looked somewhat annoyed at Marshall.

"It is only six in the morning" Marshall said still trying to get aware of his surroundings.

"That's exactly the point!" Chase shouted again, "We are leaving at six-thirty and you need to get your stuff together." Marshall then remembered what day it was as he suddenly began to look more awake than ever while a smirk began to form on his face.

"Oh yea!" he shouted and began to run towards the lookout until he tripped over a toy on the ground, flying right into Chase sending both of them tumbling into the lookout. "Oh, sorry about that." They both laughed as Marshall frantically went to get his stuff and pack.

While Marshall was packing Chase went back outside he saw to familiar pups slowly walking towards the entrance. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to give you a megaphone." Skye said with a irritated look. Her pink eyes were brighter than ever in the wake of the morning.

"Hey it was not for me we would sleep through our only break we have had in a long time, besides I was packed way before any of you." The German Shepherd with a slight chuckle.

"Some of us have a lot more stuff to pack." Rocky mentioned while scratching his ears.

"All you packed was a few towels." Both Chase and Skye said in unison and sarcastically.

"Yea and I had to pack extra in case I got wet." They all laughed as Marshall came out of the lookout finally packed and ready.

"Rocky we are finally get a few days off and you are just gonna sit on the beach and watch us all have fun?" Marshall asked with a slight smirk.

"There are tons of other things we can do at beach besides swim." Rocky said as Ryder walked out of the lookout carrying a few bags and talking to himself.

"Ok, I got everything packed, I called everyone and made sure they were good with us leaving for a few days and…" He noticed the pups all looking at him and seemed to calm down a little.

"You really look like you could use a vacation." Said Chase smiling. Sure, Ryder had never complained about all of the rescues and missions that he and the pups went on everyday, but even he needed a brake and some point. Lots of the townsfolk actually suggested it after noticing he seemed to be more and more tired with every passing day. He was slightly hesitant at first though he later realized that a vacation would be the perfect thing to refresh him.

"I sure could use one." Marshall said, "My legs feel like they have not gotten a full rest in months."

"Well they sure act like it." Said Chase in a sarcastic tone laughing until he fell over as Marshall playfully tackled him. Ryder laughed and stretched his arms out yawning as he prepared to finally relax for once. "Ok I am sorry." Chase apologetically looked Marshall still holding him down.

"Alright you two there will be plenty of time to play when we get to Shell City." He said as he smiled at the four pups and then shouted with excitement "Who here is ready to finally get a break!" They all happily jumped and barked as Ryder pulled out a bag of treats and threw some into their mouths. "Well then we better get going now if we want to get the most sunlight from today!" He shouted as they all ran to their separate vehicles still full of excitement and anticipation.

Shell City was not really a city. Most of the people who live there are there just for the beach alone. The beach was huge and crowded most days of every month. Even in the winter it was still mostly sunny all season and still full of life. The sun appeared to rise out of the ocean every morning and slowly illuminated the city.

"We got a five hour road trip ahead" Ryder said to the pups as they all began to drive onto the bridge and away from the lookout. "I hope you all ate as much food as you could because there will be not time for stopping on the way!" He shouted as they zoomed down the street and turned out of Adventure Bay.

"Are you sure Adventure Bay will be alright without us?" questioned Skye.

"I hope so because I don't think taking five hours to get to an emergency would be effective" He said with a slight chuckle. The response made Skye look a little worried, Ryder noticed this and said "I am sure they will fine, besides maybe we can find more members at Shell City."

As the hours passed and the kept sun rising higher in the sky every second, the group finally arrived at their destination still full of energy and excitement. The beach was long and already crowded. There were big rocky cliffs surrounding the whole beach and the waves violently crashed at the bottom of them. Skye landed her helicopter and the others all parked their vehicles on the beach after hours of driving. "Whew we finally made it." said Rocky hopping out of his recycling truck and onto the sand. The sand felt nice and soft with just the right amount of warmness to it. He stretched his back into the air and leaned in on his front paws. Now I finally can get the rest that I missed from waking up so early. He set down a towel and laid down on it, stretching out onto the soft and fuzzy surface.

"Oh come on Rocky." Marshall began to say "We just got here and the first thing you do is take a nap?"

"Yep." Rocky said with glee. "Just wake me up when the sun is fully risen and the tide is the lowest, besides it is not like anything superful eventful is gonna happen today and we always have tomorrow."

Marshall shook his head and asked "Well who wants to play some catch?" The rest of the group all ran down the beach excited to finally have a few days were they could just relax and unwind without a care in the world.

Rocky looked around at the other humans and pups on the beach. Most were playing with others, playing tag and catch. Some were in the water having races and competitions. There was one pup that stood out however, while most had others to play with, one was alone on what look liked some sort of makeshift windsurfing board. He continued to watch him do some genuinely impressive moves considering the state of the board. Rocky couldn't take his eyes of the pup for some reason. He was so focused that he failed to notice that the windsurfing board was now getting closer and closer to him. When he realized this it was to late, the board crashed right next to him covering him in sand and he felt a cool, wet body land on top of him.


	2. The Stray Pup

A Hour Earlier

On a darker and completely barren side of the beach tucked away under some of the rocky cliffs, a small brown pup laid on a few old towels. He was tossing and turning in his sleep as he seemed frightened. He awoke as the sound of waves overcame his dream. He jumped up and looked around confused at where he was. He then let out a sigh as he slowly realized he was still at the same old beach. He hated everything about his little hideout. His 'bed' was uncomfortable and constantly getting full of sand. The only positive that he could think about was how it was on the beach which was his favourite place to be.

It always did have a smell of sea water and had not cleaned in over a year, since he ended up there. He had a great life before, his parents were taken in by the nicest owners he had ever known, Max and Meri. Even though his biological parents always lived with them, he still considered them as his parents as well. They had a house in Shell City and he and his sister, Kalea, went to the beach everyday. She was always better than him at everything. She could windsurf unlike anything he had ever seen before, she could swim faster and she did it with such tranquility that he could never quite figure out. They lived in the house for three and half years before they went on a cruise ship and his life changed in a instant. His sister was two years older than him and he thought that they would never be separated, at least not forever.

He begrudgingly stepped out his little hideaway questioning whether or not he should even bother waking up anymore. The sun was shining brighter than ever today and the air was exceptionally hot. The only thing keeping him going was watching other families play at the beach. They all looked so happy, playing without a care in the world, acting like there was no tomorrow. Watching them reminded him of the good times he had with his family. "I guess I could twy to go for another day." He said.

It was quite windy this day and perfect for windsurfing. He went back to his 'house' and grabbed a makeshift windsurfing board made out of a log, a few sticks and a patch of leaves. It was nothing special and did not work very well but it was enough to entertain him for a day. All he had to eat was a half ate bag of leftovers he found in the trash. The pups body was very skinny and boney. All there was to eat was what was in the trash. He stumbled along the beach dragging the board behind him leaving bits of leaves everywhere.

He finally stepped out into the main beach, already full of people. There were pups running around and catching frisbees in the air. A little smile came across his face as we watched them play so happily. He thought about the times when he and his sister would play on the beach. Him remembering these things probably just made him sadder than anything. The wind continued to pick up as the boney little pup walked to the shoreline.

Two brown paws pulled up the sail, part of it falling apart. The wind was perfect for windsurfing and he got into it with no problem at all. Everything was going decently well. The sounds of the waves and wind blowing in his face managed to help him take his mind off of everything else for awhile. After around thirty minutes out on the water, he decided to take a break. As he turned back for the shore he was instantly thrust forward as he collided with another rider he failed to see. This alongside the wind caused him to get sent flying back towards the shore and his crummy board was out of control. When he hit the shore he lost his grip and flew off the board landing on a hard and fluffy figure. The board crashed next to the sending sand flying into them.

"Wet, wet, wet!" The Mongrel Pup said, "Wet and sandy!"

"Sowwy about that dude." The lab said as he began to stand up and shake off the sand. He and Rocky locked eyes for a second as they both got up.

"It's ok there is a reason I brought extra towels, I'm Rocky by the way." Rocky stated while grabbing a towel and drying off using his claw arm, a little embarrassed about what happened.

"Woah what is that dude?" The lab asked having never seen anything like it.

"It is a tool that I use to do tasks that a pup couldn't normally do." Rocky said with little smugness, "I helped make it myself."

"How did you get the supplies for that Wocky?" Zuma said still amazed by the robotic arm.

"Well I did not make it alone and I don't really know where the supplies came from, but I am skilled in creating things. What is your name by the way?"

"Oh, I'm Zuma." Zuma responded a little bit taken back by the question.

Rocky looked at Zuma from top to bottom. He noticed just how messy and skinny he looked. "So do you live nearby?" He questioned though he had a pretty clear idea of the answer.

"Uh, yea I live in the city…" Zuma lied realizing how grubby he looked. Rocky, not fully believing him but not really wanting to question him too much, walked over to Zuma's windsurfing board,. The board was completely ruined, the sail that was made of leaves was torn apart and the stick holding the sail and board together was broken in half.

"So if you live in the city do you mean in an alleyway or with a family?" Rocky asked seeing through Zuma's lies. "And if you live with a family, why does your board look like it was made by a caveman?"

Zuma, wanting to change the topic and not wanting to reveal his actual home, changed the topic back to Rocky, "Whewe do you live?"

"I live back in Adventure Bay, have you been there?" Rocky replied still staring Zuma down.

"Yea… It is great there." Zuma lied again trying not to make Rocky question him anymore.

Before Rocky could ask anymore questions, Ryder came over to them after seeing the chocolate labrador talking with Rocky, "I see you have made a new friend already." Ryder said with a gleeful smile, "I told you the beach would be a good place to relax at."

"This is Zuma, he has a home here in Shell City."

"Hi Zuma! I see you have met Rocky, he is my recycling pup and he also helps me create machines and gizmos back at Adventure Bay."

"So you awe is owner?" Zuma asked staring at the badge on his coat.

Ryder chuckled, "I guess you could say that, I also have three other pups. Marshall, Chase and Skye. We are the Paw Patrol."

"I guess that's why you have that paw badge, so you guys do what exactly?"

"We do anything we can to make sure the residents of Adventure Bay stay safe. Though we are taking a vacation here in Shell City." Ryder noticed Rocky messing around with a broken stick and some leaves. "Is that yours Zuma?"

"Well it was my windsurfing boawd."

Ryder smiled, "Well let me get you a better one since that one looks a little… broken."

Ryder allured Zuma to come with him into the city. Rocky followed Ryder and Zuma hesitantly followed the individuals he had just met. He did not really worry to much as he did not really have anything to lose if something happened to him. They crossed the street and walked into the cities beach supplies store. It had been a long time since Zuma had been inside a actual building. He forgot about that feeling of the air blowing on him as the automatic doors opened. They walked up the counter and Ryder pointed at a six hundred dollar windsurfing board.

"Wait you awe buying that for me?" Zuma asked looking confused.

"Sure! I saw how you were riding out there on the water with that selfmade board and you managed to do some impressive moves with it. After I saw you crash onto the beach I decided to come over and see if you were ok, though I decided to let Rocky talk to you first. I overheard how you made it yourself and I was quite impressed."

"But why would you buy a real one and expensive one for a stranger?"

"Well that is what the Paw Patrol is about! Helping others in any way we can."

Zuma could not help but form a smile on his face. It had been a long time since anyone had ever gotten anything for him. He also could not help but get excited to use a real windsurfing board again. If I am so impwessive with my shoddy board then maybe I could do some real moves with a real one.

"Well… thank you." It had been awhile since Zuma had a social interaction with someone else, he was not really good at talking to others and he still could not believe that a perfect stranger would buy something for him.

"Now how about you go catch the breeze!"

"Yea let's go dude. Maybe you can try to Wocky!"

"Oh, no thanks I would rather stay on the beach were it is dry."

"Weally a dog who doesn't like to get wet?" Zuma laughed at the idea that a pup taking a vacation to a beach side city did not enjoy getting wet.

Ryder laughed, "Yea that is Rocky, we all dislike something that others like. We all have our reasons for disliking them."

Zuma laughed for the first time in awhile as he ran down the street and back onto the beach. Rocky slowly followed behind, still feeling a little weird after his encounter with the brown pup. Why did he have to land on me like that. He appears as if he had not had a full meal in years. Why would he lie about living in the city, I mean there is no way a pup looking like that has a actual family. Tons of thoughts circled in his mind about the pup. He shook them off and continued to follow him.

"Ryder! Rocky! We have been looking for you!" Marshall shouted as he jumped onto Ryder licking his face.

"Sorry about that pups. Me and Rocky met this other pup and decided to get him a gift."

"You got him a gift?" Chase asked confused on why Ryder would buy a gift for someone he didn't know.

"We can talk about it later. For now why don't you continue your day off, I have treats!" The four pups all jumped up as Ryder threw four treats into the air, they each caught them in the air perfectly.

Rocky looked down at the sand still thinking about Zuma. "Ryder?" Rocky asked as he signaled for Ryder to come over and have a conversation. "About Zuma, did you notice how skinny and boney he looked?"

"Yes that was the first thing I noticed about him." Ryder said with a slightly worried expression. "That is part of the reason I decided to gift him that board, he doesn't seem like he has a home and he looked like he needed something to cheer him up." Ryder knew a stray pup when he saw one, he had dealt with lots of them before.

"If that is the case why would he lie about having a home and a family?" Rocky sort of knew that answer, he assumed that Zuma had a similar experience to him.

"For the same reason you couldn't tell me what happened to you for a few weeks after I found you. He probably had some sort of traumatic experience and his hiding it deep inside him."

Rocky watched as Zuma ran towards the water as if he had not experience genuine joy in a long time.

"Maybe we could give him a home." Rocky looked up at Ryder as he said that. "We could use some new members to help us out."


	3. Chapter 3

Just wanted to say that this is not necessarily a origin story. I wouldn't consider it something that actually happened in the actual Paw Patrol show, there are a lot of things that happen that would not make sense if they were in the actual thing. Sort of my own thing that is separate.

* * *

Zuma got the board ready to take off. It felt amazing in his grasp. The excitement he was holding in was about to burst. _This thing must be amazing on water!_ He could not wait to get this thing out on sea. The wind had not stopped picking up ever since he woke up. It showed no signs of slowing down and Zuma realized that it would only get worse. Looking back he saw that he was being watched by Ryder and the pups that gifted him the board. _Alwight I better not mess this up._

When he finally pushed the board onto the sea and raised the sail, he was instantly stunned at how well it performed. It turned without any problems at all and managed to catch some significant air. He howled in joy as the wind pushed the board through the water and air. The waves kept getting higher and higher as time went on. He felt a feeling that he had not felt since he lost his family. The feeling of being free and not having a worry in the world. After what only felt like a thirty minutes he finally decided to take a break. The board landed perfectly on the beach and smoothly crept along the sand as it came to a stop. The beach was a little more crowded than when he got onto the water.

"Those were some impressive moves Zuma." Zuma slightly jumped as he turned to see Rocky walking towards him, "You do realize you were out there for a few hours?"

"What? No way dude it felt way shorter than that." Zuma did not realize just how long he was out there.

The rest of the Paw Patrol came over to him. "That is a water pup if I have ever seen one." Skye said smiling at Zuma. "You really know the ocean Zuma."

"Zuma that was amazing!" Marshall shouted.

"It was quite impressive." Chase said.

They kept praising him for his windsurfing skills. Zuma forgot the feeling of recognition. The feeling of being told you are amazing and having others look up to your skills, it was a feeling he never thought he would experience again. Even some of the beach goers were looking at him with the expressions of grandeur.

"How long have you lived next to the ocean?" Questioned Marshall still sporting a look of amazement.

"My whole life I have lived out here. Me and my sister used to be considered the best water pups in the city. Well at least by my parents!" Zuma shouted this out not realizing he mentioned his sister or his family.

They all looked at him questioningly. "You have a sister? Where does your family live?" They all asked.

Zuma realized what he had said. He quickly tried to make them forget that he mentioned anything to do with a family, "Um, uh… fowget that I said anything." Ryder looked at the other pups with a gaze and slight head shake that made them not pursue the questioning.

"Well there still time for us to do other things before the sun goes away." Ryder told the five pups. "Zuma, do you want to play some games with us till then?"

"Oh, sure Wyder, I could use some others to play with." It was getting harder for Zuma to conceal his loneliness now. The Paw Patrol group was to kind for him to just walk away from and playing with others helped fill the emptiness inside him.

"You look like you could use some food to." Ryder grabbed a handful of treats from his treat bag and gave them all to Zuma. He ate them instantly, treasuring the taste the he had long forgotten.

"Thank you so much Wyder!" The pups played for a few more hours. They played tag, volleyball, catch. Zuma let the others try windsurfing, accept for Rocky who declined his offer once more. He picked up on how shy Rocky was around him. Strangely he also felt more shy around Rocky then he did around the others, it was probably just because of there awkward first encounter.

Zuma was right about the wind not stopping. As the hours passed the sun was slowly overtake by dark forbidding clouds. The wind began to howl with such intensity that towels began blowing off the ground and umbrellas flew up into the air. All of the pups seemed to struggle to stand up. "I think it is time we find a place to settle down for the rest of the day." Ryder told everyone.

"It sure is getting windy, I hope that everyone gets the idea to go inside soon." Chase said as he stumbled along the beach as the wind was blowing harder than ever. "There appears to be a big storm coming."

Thunder could be heard in the distance as bolts of lightning struck the sea far from the beach. The storm continued to get closer. "I guess I should get back home as well." Zuma said this despite knowing that Ryder and Rocky saw he was lying, though they did not seem to stop him from saying goodbye to everyone and heading back to his little hideaway.

"Stay safe Zuma!" Ryder shouted as Zuma continued to walk into the distance. "Alright Rocky" Ryder looked down at Rocky as they both had the same idea, "I think we both know that Zuma is lying about where he really lives." Rocky looked up at Ryder wondering if he would go after the stray pup. "I was thinking that maybe you could follow him and talk to him."

Rocky was taken back by the request. "Me? But, why me?"

"You were the one to introduce him to me. You two were always the closet together when we were playing, you seem like you will make really good friends." Rocky was caught off guard by the "will" part of what Ryder said.

"We will make really good friends?" Rocky never thought about Zuma joining the Paw Patrol, despite Ryder suggesting it earlier. "Wait, what if he doesn't want to join us, what if he doesn't want to help us do our missions?"

"Rocky, I have spent most of my life living with pups, I know their personality the second I meet them. You were hesitant at first when I offered you to come home with us and look how that turned out." Ryder knew that Zuma would come around eventually. He seemed so happy when he was playing with the other pups. He ate the treats I gave him within a second, besides even if he doesn't want to join the Paw Patrol, I won't just leave him here alone without any place to go."

Rocky smiled as he agreed to go and find Zuma. Ryder was the nicest person that he had ever met. He couldn't be more thankful for being found by him and not someone else. "Alright Ryder, I will go find him, but what if he refuses to come with me?"

"Then you can drag him to the hotel yourself." Ryder jokingly said, knowing Zuma would not refuse the offer.

Rocky gave a lukewarm laugh, still worrying that he would fail at getting Zuma to come along. Ryder watched as Rocky ran in the direction they last saw Zuma go. The wind was getting really fierce. Trees looked as if they were going to soar out into the ocean, the rocky cliffs were sending piles of leaves flying off into the water. _I hope that no one is out there_. The sky was getting darker as the sun was setting somewhere behind the clouds. If anyone is out there in the sea in these conditions, we might have to take a break from our break.

Rocky managed to track down Zuma quite easily. He instantly recognized the boney little brown pup cowering down in a little cave on some old towels, with one over top of him. "Zuma!" He shouted causing the little pup to jump.

"Oh, hi thewe Wocky." Zuma said shyly, not expecting to see anyone for the rest of the day.

"This is a uh, nice home you got here." Rocky could not help but feel pity for Zuma as he said this with a sorrowful tone.

"Ok, so as you obviously know I do not have a home... Or a family." Zuma felt tears begin to form in eyes after he said this.

"You know, there is plenty of room at our hotel!" The wind was getting so loud that Rocky had to shout even though he was getting close enough to Zuma to touch him. "Why don't you come stay with us for a night?" Rocky did not want to pressure him to much with the offer of moving to Adventure Bay and possibly joining the Paw Patrol.

"I don't know Wocky, I haven't lived with someone else for a long time." Zuma looked down at the wet and cold floor, not sure whether or not he was ready.

"It is just for a night, I won't take no for an answer. Even if you stay here I won't let you stay here alone."

A tiny smile appeared on Zuma's face, "I, I… I guess that I could stay with someone else for a night."

"Then come on lets go before this wind gets any worse." Rocky held out his paw to help Zuma up.

"Thanks Wocky. I have never met a pup as kind as you."

Him saying this made Rocky pause for a moment, thinking of what to say and making him slightly blush. "Uh, no problem buddy." Zuma smiled as he said this, while he grabbed his paw and they quickly left the cave and headed back to city.


	4. A Night to Remember

"Who here is hungry for some dinner?" Ryder said to three hungry looking pups. To the pups surprise he poured six bowls of food instead of four.

"What are the extra bowls for?" Questioned Chase.

"Well you will see soon enough, are you all ready to eat?"

"I am!" Yelled Marshall, "But where is Rocky?"

"Hopefully he will be here soon, and with a friend."

"A friend?" the three pups asked.

"I think you all realize that Zuma doesn't actually live with a family in a place he can call home." Ryder explained, "So I told Rocky to go and ask him if wanted to spend a night with us, where we could ask him if he wanted to live with us."

They heard clawing at the entrance to the hotel room. Ryder quickly ran to and opened the door and a huge smile came across his face as he saw two pups standing at the entrance, soaked from the rain that had just started to cover the city. He winked at Rocky saying "I knew you could do it."

"It came at the cost of getting wet." Joked Rocky.

Zuma shyly crept into the room, excited to see three familiar faces staring at him. "How is it going dudes?" He asked, still shy and hesitant to be in something he actually could consider a home with others.

"Zuma!" Marshall, Chase and Skye shouted at the same time. They all ran over to him and playfully tackled him onto the ground. "Is it true that you are gonna come live with us and join the Paw Patrol?" Zuma facial expression instantly changed at the question. He turned to look at Ryder who also looked a little surprised at what the pups said.

"Uh, I didn't know that was something that was offered to me."

Ryder walked up to the pups and they all jumped off of Zuma, "We can talk about it over dinner."

"Dinner?" Zuma turned to look at two heaping bowls full of food. A smile instantly came across his face as he ran up to the two bowls, eating all of the food in just a minute.

"Thank you so much Wyder! And thanks to the rest of you for being such nice pups." They all shared a good laugh together.

"Say, Zuma, can I talk with you in private?" Ryder asked well the rest of pups all talked with each other. Zuma nodded and they both walked into a separate room from the others.

"I think that I alweady know what you're gonna ask me Wyder." Zuma quickly said as they entered. Tons of thoughts were passing through Zuma's mind right now, still unsure whether or not he would be able to handle living with a family again.

"Well the other pups kind of spilled the beans before I could ask you directly."

"I don't know Wyder, I mean I haven't lived with others for a long time and… I do know whether or not I would be good at rescuing."

"Listen Zuma, I don't really care if you join the Paw Patrol and go on missions with us, but I won't just let you live alone on the beach for the rest of your life. Marshall, Chase, Skye and Rocky all have had similar experiences to you, whether it being living alone, losing your family or forgetting that no matter what, you will find your family again, one way or another. Don't let the name or our missions fool you, we are a team, but more importantly we are family and we never leave a family member behind."

Zuma felt tears begin to slowly fall down his face, before feeling a hand gently wipe the away. "So what do you say buddy, will you come home with us and embrace what it feels like to feel loved again?"

Zuma couldn't hold back his tears anymore. His mouth practically forced out a "Yes" and felt arms wrap around him as he gently placed his head down into Ryder's arms.

"Welcome to the family, Zuma." Ryder said wiping Zuma's cheeks and holding him tightly. "You can stay in here till you are ready to come out." Ryder walked back into the other room.

"Ok you totally cheated." Marshall said to Chase as he lost a game of cards.

"Come on you just can't accept the fact that I am a better cards player than you."

"Do not make me slap those cards out of your hands."

"You would probably miss and fall over." Chase said and burst out laughing while saying it.

"Oh that is it!" Just as Chase embraced himself to be tackled by Marshall all the pups turned their heads to see Ryder step out of the other room.

"Pups…" He said acting like something was wrong, "I have some good news… And I have some bad news." They all looked at him with the same worrisome expression. "The good news is that Zuma agreed to come home with us, the bad news…" He paused as he looked at the pups who both looked excited and worried, "The bad news is one of you has to share a seat with him to while driving home." They all laughed as they all jumped up asking who would have to share the seat.

"My copter has plenty of room!" Skye happily shouted.

"My firetruck is pretty big I am sure he could fit!" Marshall yelled trying to be louder than Skye.

"No way my police truck is way faster and bigger, I would happily drive Zuma to Adventure Bay." Chase was competitively looking at Marshall. They eventually turned to Rocky who was sitting shyly in the corner not picking up on the fact that they all had offered a ride accept him.

"Oh, me? Uh, well my truck is full of stuff and…" He turned to look at Ryder as if asking for help.

"Alright, alright settle down. How about I drive Zuma home. I am sure you will all get chances to drive him around eventually."

"Where is Zuma anyway?"

Zuma stepped out from the room, trying to hide some of his tears from the others, both tears of joy and sadness, but mainly joy. "So I guess it is official? I'm coming back with you to Adventure Bay."

Rocky was the first to ask if Zuma was alright, noticing that there little streaks of water that appeared to come down from his eyes. "I am fine you do not need to wowwy about me. In fact I haven't felt this happy for a long time Wocky and none of this would have happened if I hadn't crashed into you." Rocky paused when Zuma said this. It never dawned upon him that if he hadn't had Zuma land on top of him on the beach that they may have never met.

"I guess taking a nap on a beach was not such a bad idea?" Joked Marshall as gave a slight wink towards Rocky. "It ended up being a good thing that you hated water."

"Well I guess we better all gather around and talk about ourselves." Suggested Ryder. They all got up and gathered around the fireplace in the middle of the room. "So why don't we start at you Marshall, what do you do at Adventure Bay?" Zuma turned his attention towards Marshall, curious to learn about the pups that he was gonna spend the rest of his life with. The clothes that he was wearing back at the beach kind of gave away there jobs though.

"Well me, I am Marshall the fire pup. I handle things such as… well things such as fires. Although I can also use my ladder to held out people and critters stuck in high places, such as a tree."

"Are you gonna mention the part where you fall down the ladder when the critter jumps on your face?" Chase asked jokingly.

"We all can't be perfect like you Chase. Besides I still manage to get them down safely and that is all that really matters."

"Oh come on I am not perfect, none of us are." Chase said with a smile.

"I also handle medical emergencies, though I rarely ever need to do so. Adventure Bay is probably the safest place that I know. But enough about me, who wants to talk about themselves next?"

"Oh I do!" Skye shouted with excitement. "If you have not guessed from my name and the fact that I fly a helicopter, I handle emergencies that require us to reach someone in a high place, to high for Marshall's ladder. I also survey areas before Ryder and the others go in for whatever reason. I can also fly without my copter. My pup pack has built in wings that allow me to take to the sky whenever I want."

"I don't understand how you can enjoy flying that much." Marshall interrupted, "I mean haven't you ever worried about falling?" Marshall's face formed a expression of fear as he thought about falling one hundred feet from the sky.

"I only worried about falling at first, but I soon learned that Ryder was the greatest inventor of all time and that his machines would never fail. And when we got Rocky on the team, he made some amazing improvements and random gizmos that only added to the experience!" Ryder quickly turned at look at Rocky, Zuma noticed that Rocky was staring right at him before Rocky quickly realized Ryder was looking at him.

"Wait you tampered with Skye's pup pack and I didn't know?" Ryder quickly asked while looking at Rocky.

"What? No I didn't… I wouldn't… I would never mess with your creations behind your back."

Rocky knew that he was busted. He actually had tampered with everyone's pup pack without Ryder knowing, improving on each of them and adding some things of his own. Ryder laughed after staring Rocky down for a second, "Don't worry Rocky, I am not mad at you. You are the smartest pup that I know and you would never add or do anything dangerous." Rocky's face turned red after he heard this. "Anyway, why don't you talk about yourself Chase."

"Me? Well I am handle things such as traffic problems and tracking down lost people and pups. I guess I also would be needed if we were chasing someone, but that has never happened before. I do have this net that can be used to catch someone. I have to use it on Marshall a lot since he is always falling."

"I am gonna assume that Mawshall is vewy clumsy." Zuma had already noticed how Marshall stumbled around before, he just never realized how clumsy he actually was.

"Yep that is Marsha…" Lightning struck outside causing Chase to stop mid-sentence. The wind was raging harder then ever and still absolutely no signs of slowing down were apparent.

Ryder looked around with a worried look, "I hope that it isn't like this at Adventure Bay." The pups noticed how Ryder look worried. They knew him as the fearless leader that he was and whenever he worried they worried. "I think that it is time we go to bed, if the storm stops tomorrow we have a whole other day of fun!" They all howled with joy before Ryder hushed them, "Keep it down though, we aren't at our lookout we are in a hotel."

They all played a few more games before deciding to go to sleep. Zuma felt emotions he had not felt since the day he was lost. For once he was able to let go of his past and feel love again. All of the pups were so nice, and Ryder was probably the nicest human he had ever met. He could not wait to go to his new home and have a family again and that surprised him.


	5. Into the Fray

The waves crashed onto the side of the boat. It rocked from side to side as the wind continuously forced the vessel to nearly topple over. "Are you sure you know what you are doing?" He recognized the voice immediately. It's heavenly tone caused his ears to tingle, even when the voice sounded distressed.

"Trust me, we do!" Another voice that he recognized shouted on the other side of the bow. "We better head inside so this storm doesn't send us flying off this ship! Everyone else has to be asleep by now."

Zuma looked around now realizing where he was. _No, not this again._ _Why can't I just fowget, I found a new family._ He followed the others into the ship, watching their every move trying to figure out what went wrong. They ran down back into the ship. _I don't understand, I alweady know what happened, I have alweady accepted it._ He slapped himself trying to wake up. _Please just someone wake me up._ The others ran into a room and shut the door. He ran up to it and tried to force it open. Nothing. The door didn't even budge.

* * *

There was a huge crash outside as he woke up, still in the hotel room, covered with warm blankets and a food bowl in front of him. _I guess Wyder put out a midnight snack for me. _He ate it up instantly before trying to go back to sleep. His was mind was racing with different thoughts. There were just to many things on his mind to allow him to fall back into slumber.

Looking around he saw that the bedroom door was slightly open with light creeping in from the other side. Lying around him were four other pups, sleeping carefree and peacefully. Seeing them brought a smile to his face, but also made him wish he could be just like them. Zuma walked and peaked his head into the other room where Ryder was staring through a foggy window with a worried expression.

"Wyder?" Ryder gave a slight jump at the question, quickly turning around to look at the pup he thought was sleeping.

"Hi Zuma." Ryder's expression now changed to a slight smile, "I thought that you were asleep." He was not very surprised to see the new pup up. He had dealt with this before.

"I had a…" Zuma quickly changed what he was about to say, "I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. Thank you for the snack by the way."

"It was meant to be breakfast, but I guess I have to pour some more out now."

Zuma laughed, "So, what are you doing up?"

"Well the storm outside is pretty loud." Ryder replied, looking back out the window, squinting as if he was trying to focus on something.

"What are you looking at over there?"

"It is kind of hard to see out there, but..." He squinted even harder and leaned in closer, "It looks like something is on the water."

"What?" Zuma walked over next to Ryder. He rose up on his hind legs and looked through the window. There appeared to be some sort of large metal object swaying with the waves. He could barely make out lights on it, "Its… Its a boat Wyder." Ryder looked down at Zuma as the worried look he had on his face grew even more. There was a figure who appeared to be running around in panic. "Thewe is something on it, it seems to be wunning awound."

Ryder quickly backed away from the window and gasped, "Someone is on there?" Zuma had never seen Ryder look this worried in the short time they had hung out. It was pretty out of character for him and Zuma realized how serious this was. "They won't be able to stay on that boat much longer, it look likes it will flip any second." Ryder ran into the other room waking everyone up. "Paw Patrol we have an emergency." All of the pups quickly looked up in worry, accept for Marshall who didn't wake up from Ryder entering the room.

A groggy looking Marshall looked up in confusion, drool on his chin, "An emergency? But it is one in the morning! Why would someone be in trouble at this time?."

"I don't know what that person is doing out there, but we aren't gonna leave them out there." All of the pups quickly got in their uniforms. Zuma quickly came into the room and looked around as all the pups got in their uniforms in a few seconds, but not without a struggle.

"It isn't often that we put these on ourselves." Rocky out of the blue said to Zuma. "We usually have a machine do the work for us."

Zuma tilted his head to the side, "You don't dwess yourselves?"

Rocky chuckled, "I never had to dress myself when I joined the Paw Patrol. I saw that it took quite a while for the pups to dress themselves, so I created a machine that would do the job quickly and efficiently."

"Thats awesome dude, I can't wait to see it."

All of the pups accept Zuma lined up and stood up with their backs straight. "Paw Patrol ready for action Ryder sir!" Chase said with boldness.

"A boat appears to be stuck out on the water, with a person onboard in a panic. We need to go out there and see if someone is really stuck out there and if so make sure they get to land safely."

"What would anyone be doing out there in this weather?" Skye asked while looking out the window and seeing the wind and rain hitting the glass.

"That is what we need to find out. Skye, I will need you and your helicopter, light and harness to help me rescue whoever is on that boat."

"Let's take to the sky." Skye said although far less energetic than usual.

"EMT Marshall, I will need you on standby in case anyone needs medical attention."

"I'm ready for a Ruff Ruff rescue!" Marshall proclaimed with confidence as he stomped on the floor.

"All right Paw Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder shouted as he ran in the direction he would usually run in the lookout, only to remember he was in a hotel. "I guess we'll just have to run down to the vehicles ourselves." Ryder turned to look at Zuma, "Zuma, stay here with Chase and Rocky, we will be back soon."

Zuma raised his paw as if he was about to say something before the three ran out in a hurry. It was to late though as they were gone before a word could exit his mouth. "They have been in worse missions than this," Rocky began to say though he to knew that the missions was extremely dangerous. "They will be back before an hour passes, I am sure of it." Zuma could not help but smile at what Rocky said. _They really do trust eachothew. _

* * *

When Ryder stepped out into the storm, he felt a little relieved as the wind and rain had calmed down a little. It was still fierce, though it was nowhere near as bad as before. With Marshall and Skye at his side they all rushed to the beach in there vehicles, seeing the boat more clearly now. Ryder noticed that there was a massive hole in the side which was quickly filling with water.

"Skye! Can you see anyone on the boat?" Ryder asked as he stared off into the distance at the quickly sinking ship. The water was just deep enough to consume the entire boat and anyone who happened to be on it.

"I can only see one person, they do seem to be in quite the panicked state right now!" Skye was struggling to keep the copter in the air as the wind continued to pick up and then decline. She was swaying and swerving in the air, "I don't know if I can stay up here much longer Ryder!"

"If you need to land then land Skye! I am going out there." Ryder didn't have any sort of ramp to drive into the water on so he just drove in getting about a foot deep before switching is ATV to a hovercraft.

"Ryder! Those waves are to big, you will never make it to the boat in time!" Skye shouted as the waves towered over Ryder and his hovercraft.

"We have to try Skye!"

* * *

"Woah did his ATV just convewt to a hovewcraft?" Zuma said as he and Rocky stared down at the beach, now being able to see more clearly through the window. Chase was pacing around the room behind then, waiting for them to come back.

"You bet it did!" Rocky shouted trying to hide his worry. "You have a lot to learn and see once we get back to the lookout."

They continued to watch Ryder drive towards the boat, the waves were not extremely high as Zuma had seen before. Still, Ryder appeared to be struggling to keep the hovercraft upright. Judging by the conditions of the water and how fast the ship was sinking there was no way that Ryder would make it out there in time. Zuma looked down at his paws. _Maybe I could help them, I mean what would people think of me if I just went back to Adventure Bay and lived like a freeloader inside their house. _Zuma turned back and saw that the windsurfing board Ryder bought him was sitting in the corner. He had completely forgotten about it after he went back to his cave. An idea came into his mind.

Rocky turned his head as Zuma hopped down from the window sill and walk towards the board. _What is he doing? There is no way he is thinking of going out there in this weather. _Rocky followed him as Zuma began to rub his paw along the board, "What are you thinking about Zuma?" Rocky could not imagine the idea of going out on the water in these conditions.

"I could help them." Zuma whispered.

Rocky did not understand what he said, still refusing to believe anyone would get the idea of going windsurfing at a time like this.

"You said that the Paw Patrol helps anyone no matter what right?" Rocky slowly turned his head towards Zuma as he said this.

"Wait did you just say…" Before Rocky could finish Zuma grabbed the board and quickly ran out of the hotel room and down the hall.

Chase turned around after hearing the commotion. He was confused by what just happened. "Rocky where did Zuma just go?" Chase asked after he saw the hotel door fly open.

"Chase we need to stop him he is going to get himself killed out there!" Chase's eyes opened wide as Rocky said this. He quickly realized what Rocky was saying. "Use your net or... Something before he gets to the beach! We can't let him go out there and on the water!"

Both Rocky and Chase quickly ran out of the room and pursued Zuma down the hall. Zuma was running towards the exit of the hotel before he a heard a call from behind him, "Do not go out there Zuma!" Zuma turned to see Rocky and Chase both racing down the main hall looking as if they had just run a marathon. "What do you think you are doing with that?" Zuma looked around as Rocky said this. The reality of what he was doing hit him. The adrenaline that he had inside him was slowly diminishing.

"Im sowwy Wocky but I won't let Wyder go out there alone." Before Rocky could do anything else to stop him Zuma was already out the door, running down the street nearly being lifted off the ground by the wind and setting the windsurfing board on the beach getting ready to take off into the water.

"Is he crazy?" Rocky shouted out in desperation while looking at Chase.

"I, uh…" Chase was in too much shock to answer his question. _There is no way he is about to do this right now._

Zuma, once again filled with adrenaline and with his heart racing, pulled up the sail and was instantly sucked out to sea. He thought back to windsurfing with his sister, realizing they had dealt with far worse than this. There was a time the waves were as high as a house. His sister took it way better than him, never crashing once. He had to be rescued by her a few times that day. The memory brought a wave of confidence to him. Surprisingly, he managed to ride the wind with ease. He jumped from wave to wave before he noticed that Ryder was still trying to get to the boat underneath him.

Ryder did not manage to make it that far. The ocean was to violent, not allowing for his hovercraft to get the boat. The boat was more than halfway under the ocean now. The person on board looked as if they were just about to accept fate until they looked up as if they saw something coming towards them. Ryder looked up and to his right and saw a small brown pup on the windsurfing board he bought the day before. He couldn't believe his eyes and for a second thought that he was just seeing things. Just before he could go any further a voice came from his puppad, "Ryder! I just saw Zuma fly by you and head towards the ship!"

Zuma did not once slow down, even when he saw Ryder. Time was running out and soon that person would be lost at sea. As the ship started to become barely visible as the sea was almost finished swallowing it, Zuma caught just enough air to land on top of it. WIthout even thinking or even seeing if the person was near him he yelled "Get on, quickly!" The person jumped on without question.

Zuma quickly turned back towards the beach only to feel the wind blow powerfully against him. With the other person on his board it added more challenge to controlling the board. The only thing he had to work with was the waves slowly pushing him forward. It was not long before he could not control it anymore. He only made it halfway before the waves pushed both him and the other person down into the sea.

It took a second for Zuma to figure out where he was. The waves were so violent that he spun around in the water a dozen times before finally stopping. He frantically searched around for the person he was trying to rescue. The water was burning his eyes but he couldn't just let the man drown. Just as he was about to give up he was grabbed by his scruff and dragged out of the water and hitting the sandy beach within a few seconds.

Zuma was dazed and his vision was foggy, "Zuma! Are you ok?" he heard as he saw Ryder quickly jumping off his vehicle and over to him, looking down at him as Zuma passed out onto the beach.


	6. After the Storm

Zuma slowly opened his eyes to another pup looking over him. "Wocky?" He muttered quietly, wondering where and when he was.

"Zuma! You're awake, oh thank god." Rocky said with relieved, he had been watching over him for the whole time he was out. "You are lucky Ryder was there to save you."

"Wyder… saved me?"

"He was about to turn back to shore after he realized there was no way he would make it to the boat in time. But then he saw you soar over him and stopped in surprise. He kept asking Skye if she had a visual, but she was too busy trying to stay up in the air to clearly see. Eventually he saw you crash into the water with the man we were trying to rescue and managed to get the man strapped in with Skye's harness and to safety. Then he went back for you and barely managed to get you back to shore."

Zuma gazed right into Rocky as he told him the story, "I'm sowwy, I should have never went out there and put you guys in more danger."

Rocky was surprised at Zuma's response. "If it weren't for you we would have never managed to get that man to land. You saved him."

A small smile formed on Zuma's face from Rocky's words. _I… saved somebody?_ He quickly stood up and looked around at his surroundings, "Woah slow down Zuma, you were just unconscious from almost drowning a few hours ago." Zuma ignored Rocky as he still was trying to figure out where he was. It wasn't the hotel room, or anywhere he had ever been. It was a large circular room with a smaller circular glass room in the middle.

"Where are we?" Zuma asked as he realized that he was no longer in Shell City.

"Well let's just say our vacation was cut short. After you passed out we quickly grabbed all our stuff and began to drive back to Adventure Bay and our lookout tower."

"Oh, did I cut your vacation short? I'm sowwy." Zuma began to think that maybe it was a mistake agreeing to live with the Paw Patrol and spend the night with them. Ever since that moment he thought that he only caused more problems than help them.

Rocky let out a little laugh, "You are to hard on yourself. According to the man the storm was only going to get worse later in the day, so we decided to just head back early. You haven't done anything wrong Zuma. If it weren't for you then someone might have died because we failed to rescue them." Rocky felt bad for Zuma, _He seems so hard on himself, why? I even told him he saved that man's life. He's so innocent and adorable. Wait, did I just say adorable? Rocky shook his head and brought his attention back to Zuma._

"Thank you Wocky. I have always thought lowly of myself ever since…" He stopped as he couldn't finish what he was going to say. "Wait, what happened to the man? And where are the other pups and Wyder? Why was that man out on the sea in the first place…"

"One question at a time Zuma." Rocky said cutting him off. "Ryder and the pups are sleeping. I just stayed up to watch over you in case you woke up and had no idea what was happening, good thing I did. I told the other pups that they should probably go to bed in their pup houses. It would probably be a little weird with four pups staring down at you when you wake up."

"You have been watching over me this whole time?" Zuma questioned as he felt his eyes get a bit watery. Rocky was about to respond looking as if he was a bit embarrassed by what he said, "Thank you again Wocky. I know I have said this before but, I have never met anyone as nice as you."

Rocky searched around in his head for a response. _How do I respond to that? I never have had anyone say that to me. Let alone a guy. Wait why would that mean anything? I need some sleep._ "Uh… yea, um… you're welcome buddy."

They both locked eyes for a moment smiling. Suddenly, Zuma remembered the man and how he was out in the ocean in such a storm, "Wait, what about the man though? Why was he out there?"

"Well, he was way out in sea long before the storm. In fact he was nowhere near Shell City and was not planning on going there." Rocky paused before continuing talking, he to was still a bit confused about it all, "He said that out on the sea he was attacked."

"Attacked?" Zuma's confusion was only increased now. _Who would attack anyone out on the sea for no apparent reason? Unless..._

"Yes, attacked. Not by any sort of sea creature either. By someone or something else, the man could not clearly make out a ship or anything, but there was no way a sea creature could make a hole through his ship like that. It was also extremely foggy. In fact he said it was foggier then he had ever seen before." Zuma was about to respond before Rocky continued, "That is not the thing that confuses me though." Rocky's expression became more bewildered, "Before whatever was attacking him could do anything else, he heard a commotion happen somewhere in the fog. Whatever had initially attacked him stopped. He didn't really see much else, but he didn't see or have anything happen to him afterwards. He was in such a hurry to get back to land that he didn't dare try to get a better look."

The response only made a million more questions in Zuma's mind. _Why would anyone do such a thing? That was it? Nothing else happened?_ "Are you suwe? How does he know? Why would they just stop? Whewe was he attacked…"

"Zuma, I am confused about the whole thing to." Rocky said once again cutting off Zuma's questions, "All that matters know is you and the man are safe. Just don't jump in the water again without a plan, at least not alone." Rocky said in a joking manner, "Again, don't worry about anything that happened. The only thing you messed up was my sleeping schedule."

They both laughed, Zuma still wanted all of questions answered, though he did not expect an answer for all of them. "What time is it exactly?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Five in the morning. I fell asleep at around eleven at night yesterday and was awoken at one in the morning. I only have gotten two hours of sleep. Chase usually makes us all wake up in a few hours from now."

Zuma yawned, even though he was not technically awake for the past four hours he still felt tired. "Well then I guess we should both go to sleep."

"That's if you don't have anymore questions."

"Well, actually I did have one mowe."

"What is it?" Rocky said with a smile.

Zuma was about to ask it until he realized it probably was not the best time for such a question. "Never mind." He said putting his lying down.

"Alright then. Goodnight Zuma." Rocky said as he closed his eyes ready to sleep at any second.

"Goodnight Wocky. Or I guess it is kind of mowning…"

"Are you ready to sleep or not?" Rocky said still trying to sleep.

"Oh, sowwy Wocky I guess I have talked…"

"Zuma!" Rocky said a little bit louder.

"Sowwy." Zuma said finally stopping.

Both of them put their heads down about to drift into sleep. Before either could fall asleep Rocky said one final thing, "Actually, there is another thing that I remember him saying."

"What is it." Zuma asked yawning once more.

"Er... Forget it."

"Then can we please sleep now?" Zuma asked.

"That would be great Zuma." Rocky said putting his head down once more. He let out one final sigh before drifting off into sleep.

Zuma followed suit. He closed his eyes and managed to forget about the story the man told Rocky. His mind drifted off into nothingness.

* * *

The sun was shimmering in the sky. The beach was packed with families all enjoying themselves to another day of relaxation.

"Are you ready?" A chocolate Labrador asked looking at down at a smaller chocolate Labrador with reassuring eyes.

"I don't know Kalea. I mean I have never done this before." Zuma said rubbing his paw in the sand. "What if I mess up?"

"Come on Zuma. We all mess up when we first do something. Besides if you fall off, I will be there to catch you." Her voice was so comforting.

"But, what if you fall and I fall?"

"Then we have mom and dad watching us and coming to save us."

"What if they can't?"

"Then we have our other parents to come and save us. That won't happen though, you know I am amazing, and that they are amazing."

Zuma laughed, "You say that a lot but can you pwove it?"

"Have you not seen me out here before? I am the best of the best when it comes to windsurfing. It is not that hard. You just pull up the sail, when you get out on the water of course, then you are done!" She said happily. The waves were gently coming in to the beach. The wind was not to strong nor was it to weak. It was a perfect day for windsurfing and being on the beach.

"That can't be all there is to it. How do you steer? Awen't these things made for humans? Also, what if…" Zuma was cut off midway through his usual question rants.

"I'll tell you all of the other things you need to do once we get out on the water." She said reassuringly.

"I'm still worried about falling off."

Kalea's expression became more serious now, but still holding the same loving look. "Look Zuma, if something is to happen to us out there, the ocean will bring us back to shore, it always does." She put her paw on his shoulder and continued before he could speak up, "Nothing can keep us apart. The ocean is our home. I will always be there for you when you fall down. Even if I am not, you can not stay down forever, because someone will always be there for you."

Zuma quickly awoke sitting up straight and looking around him. Rocky was out cold, practically underneath him, different from where he was originally sleeping. I guess he moved next to me sometime when I was asleep. Unable to fall asleep again Zuma decided he needed some air. He walked towards a glass door that quickly opened as he approached it. It was still dark out, darker than it was before. He could not see much accept for the ocean gleaming in the moonlight. Zuma strolled towards a fairly large cliff and gazed into the distance. "You told me the ocean would bring us back to the shore." Zuma began to mumble with watery eyes, "So why didn't you come back to the beach... With me?"

"Are you talking to someone Zuma?" He heard behind him causing him to almost fall over before being caught by another pup.

"I'm sowwy Wocky." Zuma said being pulled back up and away from the cliff.

"Sorry for what Zuma? You have not done anything wrong." Rocky said with a familiar comforting tone.

"For waking you up and making you come out here."

"Are you ok Zuma?" Rocky asked sincerely noticing how Zuma was keeping his head down.

"I am fine Wocky. You don't have to wowwy about me so much you know."

"Someone does." Said Rocky. Zuma expected what Rocky said to be followed by a laugh, but there was nothing more. He looked into his eyes as Rocky looked back into his. They stared at each other for a moment before Zuma looked away.

"Were you sleeping next to me?" Zuma asked out of the blue trying to get away from the current conversation.

"Well you seemed to be having a nightmare. I came up to you and lied down next to you giving you a pat on the back and whatnot, which seemed to calm you down. Maybe I gave you to many details about what happened back in Shell City."

Zuma looked down at the grass. _I don't even remember having a nightmare. The dream I had was actually a happy one for once._ "Well you wewen't just lying next to me, I was prawtically lying on you in fact." A smile began to form on Zuma's face as he managed to take his mind off the dream he had and the memories it brought back.

"Well that is the thing. It was you that moved onto me after a while. I had nothing to do with that."

"You would make a really good pillow with how comfowting you are towards me."

Rocky blushed, "I would make a good pillow? I am a good pillow!" He shouted facetiously, "It's like I said, you were squirming and whimpering until I came over and you rolled on top of me." They both shared a good laugh and then became silent again. "Anyway I do really think we should go to bed. For real this time."

Zuma agreed and they both headed back towards the lookout tower. "Wocky?" Zuma asked while turning his attention at Rocky.

"Yes Zuma?"

"You weren't lying when you said you were a good pillow and I don't want to sleep alone..."

Rocky already knew what he was about say, "Fine you can use me as a pillow again. Though this time maybe not your whole entire body. It was sort of hard to breath with you on me."

"Sowwy abo... "

"Don't apologize, I think you have done that enough for one night." Rocky said. "Why don't we just go to bed? And this time, stay asleep."

Zuma didn't say anything else. They both just walked back into the lookout to get a couple more hours of sleep before the sun would rise.


End file.
